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<title>Prompt 19: General Hospital by irrationalgame</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27119663">Prompt 19: General Hospital</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/irrationalgame/pseuds/irrationalgame'>irrationalgame</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Thommy Comfortween Prompts [19]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Downton Abbey</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Blood and Injury, Car Accidents, Comfortween, Hurt/Comfort, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 18:06:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,536</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27119663</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/irrationalgame/pseuds/irrationalgame</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Comfortween prompts from https://hurtcomfortex.dreamwidth.org/22946.html</p><p>19. General Hospital<br/>Hospitalization, surgery, waiting room vigils, field medicine, medical procedures. </p><p>Thomas and Jimmy’s bus crashes, Thomas has to act as a medic</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Thomas Barrow/Jimmy Kent</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Thommy Comfortween Prompts [19]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1949317</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>47</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Prompt 19: General Hospital</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I’m having the window seat,” Jimmy said, pushing past Thomas and onto the bus. Their half day had miraculously lined up again, just as they had ever since Thomas had taken over the scheduling from Carson, and they were off for a day in York. Jimmy couldn’t think of a better way to spend his free time than hanging around with Thomas. They always had a lark, whatever they got up to, because they were doing it <em>together</em>.</p><p>“It’s like being out for the day with an overexcited child,” Thomas chastised, sitting down next to Jimmy. There was plenty of room on the bus as there were only half a dozen passengers, and that was including Thomas and Jimmy. Thomas could’ve sat anywhere - in the seat in front, or across the aisle. But he chose to sit right next to the footman, pressed together on the little bench, and it made something warm unfurl in Jimmy’s chest.</p><p>Thomas’s proximity used to make him nervous. Now it just made him happy.</p><p>“You love my enthusiasm,” Jimmy grinned, “better than being a miserable <em>old</em> sod.” He elbowed Thomas in the side and the under-butler let out a soft <em>oof</em>.</p><p>“Easy, less of the old,” Thomas smirked. The bus started up with a rumble and pulled out of the village square, tootling down one of the many lanes surrounding Downton.</p><p>“What’s the plan then Mr Barrow?” Jimmy said, drumming his fingers on the bench.</p><p>“No plan really, except a trip to the hatter’s.”</p><p>“D’ya need a new hat?”</p><p>“No I need a lamp,” Thomas rolled his eyes, “what do you think I’d be buying from the hatter’s?”</p><p>“Alright,” Jimmy grinned, “no need for that.”</p><p>“We could have a pub lunch?”</p><p>“I’m skint though.”</p><p>“You’re always skint,” Thomas tsked, “I’ll buy.”</p><p>Jimmy grinned; “Well that’s an offer I can’t refuse. An’ you’re an under-butler,” he said, putting on a uppity accent, “you can afford it.”</p><p>Neither man saw the approaching truck.</p><p>“Not when I’ve got a snotty little footman for a best mate, who takes my good will for granted,” Thomas replied.</p><p>They didn’t notice when it swerved in front of the bus.</p><p>“Well that’s just,” Jimmy started, but was cut off by the bus lurching sharply to the left, a deafening crunch, the screams of his fellow passengers and Thomas throwing his arm across Jimmy to protect him.</p><p>There was a momentary feeling of weightlessness as the bus rolled, then everything came crashing down.</p><p>Then, for a while, Jimmy knew nothing.</p><p> </p><p>It was funny really that it was the smell Jimmy noticed first, when coming up from the great black void of unconsciousness. Gasoline, oil, blood, sweat, all mixed together and trapped with him in the overturned bus. Jimmy’s vision was blurred and his face wet - he brought up a hand to his forehead and it came away bloody. He couldn’t focus enough to get his bearings.</p><p>There was a woman lying face down near him, a broken bench halfway over her back. She was clearly dead, a little streak of red on her cheek, her eyes open but unseeing.</p><p>Jimmy turned away and vomited.</p><p>His next clear thought as he wiped the sick from his mouth was of <em>Thomas</em>. Where was Thomas? He’d been right beside Jimmy before they’d crashed but he could’ve been thrown anywhere as the bus rolled over.</p><p>“Thomas?!” Jimmy croaked. He’d been aiming for a yell. He coughed and tried again. “Thomas?!”</p><p>“Jimmy?!” a panicked voice replied, “Jimmy, where are you?”</p><p>“I’m here,” Jimmy called.</p><p>“I’m coming,” the voice said - it was <em>Thomas</em>.</p><p>“Thomas!” Jimmy called, “I’m here - help me.”</p><p>“Jimmy, I’m coming, I’m coming,” Thomas called back. Jimmy managed to grab what was left of a window frame and hoist himself up a little; Thomas had been thrown towards the back of the bus and was crawling on his hands and knees, through broken glass and splintered wood, to reach Jimmy. His heart lurched. Thomas was <em>alive</em>.</p><p>As soon as Thomas was in range they both reached out for the other; Jimmy grabbed Thomas’s lapels and pulled him into an embrace, and Thomas wrapped his right arm around the footman. His left arm was injured in some way, held up stiffly against his body.</p><p>They embraced for a moment and Jimmy said; “Thank god you’re alright Thomas, thank god.”</p><p>Thomas nodded against his shoulder. “There’s petrol everywhere, we have to get off now.”</p><p>Jimmy understood the urgency. The whole bus could go up at any moment. “I don’t know if I can walk,” he said. He meant; <em>please don’t leave me.</em></p><p>“I’ll bloody carry you if I have to,” Thomas replied.</p><p>Jimmy touched Thomas’s left arm lightly and he winced. “You’re not in any state to carry anyone.”</p><p>“I’ll drag you then, if you can’t walk.” Thomas managed to struggle to his feet and he pulled Jimmy up with him. Jimmy’s whole right leg was in agony; his trousers were torn and soaked in a worrying amount of blood. He grimaced - they could find out what was wrong with it once they were safely outside.<br/><br/>Jimmy leaned heavily against Thomas’s side and the under-butler wrapped his arm around Jimmy’s middle. Slowly, they hobbled towards the front of the bus. Most of the other passengers had already escaped and the driver was helping the remaining couple out through the smashed windscreen.</p><p>“Anyone else back there?” the driver asked. His hat was missing and his face was covered in a spiderweb of tiny cuts.</p><p>“No one who can be helped,” Jimmy replied. They dropped to their knees and Thomas slid out through the gap - he reached back in and pulled Jimmy out after him. They stumbled a few feet away before both falling into the grass. Jimmy looked around - the bus had careened into a farmer’s field. The other passengers were standing and sitting around in a daze and they were being watched by a distant herd of terrified sheep.</p><p>The driver climbed out of the bus and announced; “Everyone stay calm and stay put. Help’s on the way.”</p><p>“Let’s have a look at that leg shall we?” Thomas said. Jimmy pulled a face; he wasn’t keen on the sight of his own blood. Thomas took out his pocket knife and cut a slit up the front of Jimmy’s trouser leg - the suit was already ruined so Jimmy didn’t care much. There was a deep gash in his calf, probably from broken glass, and it was definitely where all the blood was coming from.</p><p>“Shite,” Jimmy hissed and reached out to Thomas for reassurance. He pulled Thomas’s face close and rested their foreheads together.</p><p>“You’re alright,” Thomas said gently. His hand on the back of Jimmy’s neck was a steadying presence. “You’re going to be fine. Let me wrap something around it to stop the bleeding.”</p><p>Jimmy nodded tightly, “I trust you.”</p><p>Thomas took off his jacket and then his waistcoat, which he tore into strips. He pressed a wad of fabric against Jimmy’s calf and the footman had to clench his jaw to stop from crying out. Thomas wrapped pieces of his waistcoat around Jimmy’s leg and tied it off, holding the whole bundle in place. He sat in the grass and put Jimmy’s foot up on his shoulder, and gripped his calf. Jimmy gave a little yelp of pain.</p><p>“Keeping the leg elevated and under pressure will slow the bleeding,” Thomas said, “sorry if I’m hurting you.”</p><p>“It’s ok,” Jimmy said, forcing his voice to even out, “it’s not unbearable. Are you alright?”</p><p>“I think so,” Thomas said, “my arm hurts but it’s not bleeding or anything. It might be broken.”</p><p>“Shite,” Jimmy said, scrubbing a bloodied hand over his face, “bloody hell, shite, Thomas. There was a dead woman back there, on the bus. She - the crash killed her. We could’ve <em>died</em>.”</p><p>“But we didn’t,” Thomas said, “and we’re not going to.”</p><p>“If you’d died and I’d never,” Jimmy stopped and shook his head, “if we’d never sorted things out between us, I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself.”</p><p>Thomas gave him a quizzical look.<br/>“Sorted things out?”</p><p>Jimmy reached for Thomas’s hand, but it was otherwise occupied holding the footman’s leg together, so he settled for placing his fingers meaningfully on Thomas’s knee. He gave Thomas a hopeful smile.</p><p>“Oh,” Thomas said, “<em>oh</em>.”</p><p>“Yeah, <em>oh</em>,” Jimmy replied. “You were the first thing I thought of back on that bus. You’re pretty much all I think about.” He gave a self-deprecating smile. “I’m an idiot, I know. I should’ve said. I mean, I’d been dropping hints but you didn’t seem to notice. I thought maybe you weren’t interested anymore. I’d understand it if you weren’t.”</p><p>Thomas let go of Jimmy’s calf long enough to cover the footman’s hand with his own and squeeze. “I noticed. I just - I couldn’t be the one to make the first move. Not with our history.”</p><p>“Consider this as me making the first move then,” Jimmy replied.</p><p>Thomas smiled, “Alright, I will. No more dancing around it though.”</p><p>”No more dancing at all with this leg,” Jimmy grinned.</p><p>And they sat together and waited, the bell of the estate fire engine ringing in the distance.</p>
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